Chapter 14 - THE PRICE OF CHOOSING LOVE
They escaped the Hall of Ashes with Kael barely conscious.
Tessa led them through the rebel tunnels to Mara’s apothecary, where healers treated the Prince’s burns.
For two days, Kael drifted between sleep and fever.
Sometimes he whispered Elara’s name.
Other times he begged his father to forgive him.
But most often, he woke screaming.
The Shadow Crown had forced him to witness memories that did not belong to him.
Cities burning.
Children drowning.
A golden king condemning thousands to death.
On the third evening, Elara sat beside his bed.
Kael opened his eyes.
“Did I hurt you?”
She looked up.
“No.”
He noticed the bruise across her shoulder.
“You’re lying.”
Elara tried to smile.
“I’ve had worse.”
Kael turned away.
“I remember trying to kill you.”
She took his hand.
“You were being controlled.”
“I remember wanting to obey.”
The admission frightened him.
Elara held his hand more tightly.
“That wasn’t all you wanted.”
He looked toward her.
“You brought me back.”
“No,” she answered softly. “You fought your way back.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Kael raised her hand to his lips.
“I don’t know what I would have become if you hadn’t come.”
Elara felt warmth rise in her chest.
But before either could speak again, Theron entered carrying a damaged map.
“The Fourth Flame has been corrupted.”
Elara stood.
“Can it be restored?”
“Perhaps. The Guardian of Embers remains beneath Mount Veyr.”
Kael pushed himself upright.
“Then we go.”
Theron shook his head.
“You can barely stand.”
Kael swung his feet over the bed.
“My mother is helping Malrec destroy the kingdom. I won’t lie here while others fight.”
Elara studied him.
She admired his courage.
But she also saw how desperately he wanted to make up for the things he had done while controlled.
“You don’t have to punish yourself to prove you’re good,” she said.
Kael looked at her.
“Then what should I do?”
“Recover. Help us plan. Don’t throw your life away because you’re ashamed.”
He lowered his eyes.
After a long pause, he nodded.
That night, the rebel leaders gathered beneath the apothecary.
Mara spread maps across a table.
“We can move food through the eastern tunnels,” she said. “But the Queen’s patrols are increasing.”
Tessa pointed toward the palace.
“The granaries are full. Seraphine is withholding supplies from districts accused of rebellion.”
Elara stared.
Children were starving while the palace stored food.
She made her decision.
“We free the granaries before we leave.”
Theron frowned.
“Every day matters.”
“I know.”
“The Fourth Seal is weakening.”
“I know that too.”
Elara looked around the table.
“But if we let children starve while we’re searching for celestial power, how are we different from the kings who sacrificed Nareth?”
Silence followed.
Then Mara smiled faintly.
“My daughter would have liked you.”
The words nearly broke Elara’s heart.
By dawn, the rebels had a plan.
Tessa would lead civilians toward the eastern storehouses.
Aldric’s surviving loyal guards would open the gates.
Kael would publicly denounce the food restrictions from the palace’s outer steps, forcing the royal soldiers to choose whether to attack their own prince.
And Elara would protect the evacuation routes.
The operation began at sunrise.
Within an hour, hundreds of families received food.
But as the people cheered, black smoke rose above the palace.
Seraphine had discovered the rebellion.
And she had sent her newest weapon to crush it.
A gigantic armored beast walked through the city gates.
Its body was made of stone and human bones.
Across its chest was carved a single name.
MIRA.
Elara stopped breathing.
May you like
The Queen had turned the remains of executed prisoners into weapons.
And one of them had belonged to her closest friend.
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